How does one become a diva? Practice, darlings, lots of practice. Although divas are made by the gods who give them the voices of angels, the rest of the persona is studied and acquired.The one thing divas have in common is their exceptional ability to sweep -- as in sweep into a room, sweep down the staircase, sweep into a limo. They know how to float a stole across the stage.With the festive party season in full swing and many opportunities for sweeping, so many women are paralyzed by stage fright, afraid to hit the high glamour notes.

Three men who stole two cellphones and then shot one of the victims in Windsor Mill earlier this month have been charged, Baltimore County police said Tuesday. Police said the suspects walked up to the victims on Elesmere Drive near Tudsbury Road when they flashed a gun and robbed the victims of their cell phones. As they ran, one of the suspects shot one of the victims at least once around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 19. Officers found the victim in the same area, suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

Drug raid at motel results in 4 arrestsHarford County Narcotics Task Force officers reported arresting four people in a raid at the Aberdeen Motel Wednesday night after seizing an ounce of cocaine powder in a room there.Charged with possession and possession with intent to distribute cocaine after the 10:25 p.m. raid were Wayne Taylor, 19, of the 100 block of Hamilton Place, Aberdeen; Lloyd R. Binion Jr., 19, of the 600 block of Green St., Havre de Grace; Shirley Ann Harter, 18, of the 300 block of S. Washington St., Havre de Grace; and Garrett Mack Menzies, 24, of the raided room in the 1000 block of S. Philadelphia Blvd.

A former city school board member and city government worker who is accused of lying about his resume will be tried in court on fraud charges this fall. Anthony A. Hamilton, 35, who resigned from the school board as well as from the city's Health Department last August, used another man's Social Security number and student identification number to pretend to have degrees he didn't earn, prosecutors said in charging documents. Hamilton, who faces six fraud-related charges, was arraigned on Monday and has a trial scheduled for Oct. 27. His attorney could not be reached for comment.

POLICE LOG* Elvaton: Someone stole power and hand tools worth $1,500 Thursday from a car parked in the 8300 block of Brookwood Road.* Oak Grove: Someone stole two speakers and a winter coat Thursday from a car parked in the 700 block of Brackley Road. The items were valued at $200.* Old Mill: Someone stole a tool box and tools, all worth $1,500, Thursday from a truck parked in the 200 block of Nathan Way.

POLICE* Westminster: A Carroll Transit Co. official reported that someone stole a money bag containing $730 from the company's office in the 200 block of N. Center St. on Wednesday.A resident of Glen Oak Court told police that someone broke into her car and stole her purse Wednesday. She estimated the loss at $163.Another Glen Oak Court resident reported that someone broke into his auto and stole a set of screwdrivers Wednesday. He estimated the loss at $20.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office is asking the public's help in identifying a person believed to be responsible for a recent theft of a wallet from a shopper at the Abingdon Walmart. The victim was at the Walmart on Constant Friendship Boulevard on July 2 when a man asked her to help him get something from a shelf, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release Friday. When she finished helping the man, she realized her wallet had been stolen from her purse. The victim's credit cards were used at the Abingdon Target later that morning, the Sheriff's Office said.

A couple posing as customers entered a Timonium jewelry store, where, while looking at merchandise, made off with several rings costing nearly $46,000, according to Baltimore County police. The department on Wednesday released pictures of the two suspects from surveillance video from Ricardo's Gems and Jewelry in the 9600 block of Deereco Road. Police said the couple went into the store Dec. 31 and asked to view some jewelry. While the clerk was helping the woman, the man took several rings from an unlocked display case.

I was disappointed upon seeing the accompanying photograph in Sloane Brown's column about fashion-forward locals ("Glimpsed at Single Carrot Theatre ," Jan. 30). Kirsten Lessner was shown wearing a mink stole that she said was "her grandmother's cousin's. " I am not an in-your-face PETA activist, but I do get offended when I see what I call insensitive journalism. I do not care that the stole was rather old, as Ms. Lessner inferred (perhaps as if to legitimize the fact that she did not purchase it but instead inherited it)

A man who stole personal data of thousands of Baltimore County employees while working as a information technology contract worker was identified Wednesday after being extradited from Florida. Baltimore County police said Courtney Calbert, 34, of Dundalk made off with employees' banking information, Social Security numbers, and other personal information when he worked for a county contractor between December 2011 and July 2012. County officials have said more than 12,000 current and former county workers are affected.

Anne Arundel County police say two Upper Marlboro residents have been arrested in a series of theft and fraud cases in which they allegedly distracted female shoppers in local grocery stores, then took their wallets and credit cards. Police arrested Karen Steelman, 52, and Kenneth Harris, 53, and charged them with numerous theft and credit card fraud offenses. Police said they are both suspected in similar "distraction" theft cases in Washington, Virginia and North Carolina. The county's investigation started with two reports in which a man and woman distracted shoppers, then took their wallets.

A 52-year-old former employee of Baltimore City Community College pleaded guilty in Circuit Court on Wednesday to stealing more than $7,000 in student tuition payments and was sentenced to three years' probation and a one-year suspended prison term, the city state's attorney's office announced. Michelle Campbell, of the 5100 block of Marlin Court in Waldorf, was also ordered to pay back her victims in full. Prosecutors said Campbell stole cash from a dozen students and robbed them of certain certifications while she was an administrative assistant in the school's Business and Continuing Education Department.

A former treasurer of the University of Baltimore School of Law's Student Bar Association has pleaded guilty to stealing $33,000 from the organization. Margaret Oyler, 29, never graduated from the law school and found herself instead sitting as a defendant Thursday before a Baltimore judge. Oyler was given a five-year suspended prison sentence and three years' probation. She must also pay back the money. In an interview, Oyler said the thefts happened during "an extremely dark period in my life.

A federal grand jury indicted 18 alleged gang members on racketeering charges, including a detainee at a state-managed detention center, news that could draw more scrutiny to Maryland's beleaguered correctional system. Federal officials say the members of the Bloods, most of them operating out of Howard County, broke into houses, stole money and other items, and sold drugs, including oxycodone, ecstasy and marijuana. Eighteen Bloods members were charged with racketeering, and three others not in the gang were charged with selling drugs, federal officials said.